As we start our new year together, still in Christmastide, I would like to share Howard Thurman’s well-known poem “The Work of Christmas.” Howard was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, just 34 years after the end of the Civil War. He was raised by his grandmother, who had been enslaved on a Florida plantation during her lifetime. Howard grew up to be an author, a theologian, a pastor, a mystic, and a primary mentor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He witnessed great change

This season we have so much to monitor. Our to-do lists, our family dynamics, our blood pressure—to name just a few! We also monitor the news and find it is not good. Tragedy and uncertainty top the headlines. In times like these, we must be extra diligent in caring for ourselves. Remember the truism that “if you don’t take a break, God will give you one.” Being of service requires service to self. Last Monday, I had a joyful evening playing pool with three of our parishione

“Tell me, how may I join in this holy feast With all the kneeling world, and I of all the least? Fear not, O faithful heart, but bring what most is meet: Bring love alone, true love alone, and lay it at his feet.” Something I’ve tried to do these past few years is write one major composition per year, beginning with my Missa Sancti Bartholomaeus in 2021, followed by Good Night: A Requiem in 2022, my Wellington Canticles and Wellington Responses in 2023, and Precious S